The carrier battle group is expected to pass through the English Channel later this week, where it will be met by a Type 45 Destroyer.

It was reported that the Kremlin will use the voyage as an opportunity for a show of strength as it passes Britain, with the vessel expected to launch aircraft off the British and French coasts.

A Royal Navy spokesperson:

“UK and NATO assets routinely monitor warships from other nations when they enter our area of interest and this will be no different.”

The carrier Admiral Kuznetsov’s main fixed-wing aircraft is the multi-role Sukhoi Su-33. The carrier also carries the Kamov Ka-27 and Kamov Ka-27S helicopters for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and small transport.

Claims that the Admiral Kuznetsov will be deployed to Syria to fight Islamic State had been met with scepticism.

According to TASS, a military-diplomatic source in Moscow said on Saturday:

“The General Staff has prepared a plan for involvement of the deck aircraft in delivering strikes on terrorist groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the crews will practice taking off the carrier to deliver strikes on ground targets.

The Admiral Kuznetsov, will be close to the Syrian shore so that the deck aircraft have enough fuel to complete the military tasks and return back.”

“Admiral Kuznetsov has never seen combat, nor would she be of much practical military use. The 55,000-ton carrier has a bow ramp, not steam catapults, requiring her aircraft to shed weight before taking off. This means her planes will go into combat with less fuel or bombs than the ground-based fighters Russia has already deployed to Syria.”